FanPost

TE Derrick Deese Jr Draft Profile

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Revenge Pick

Derrick Deese was an offensive tackle for some NFC West team that got stomped by the GSOT Rams from 1999 through 2001. His son is a TE prospect from San Jose State. I'd be tempted to draft Derrick Deese Jr. in the 7th round just so that his dad would have to become a Rams fan.

Previously, when I've said that the 2022 draft class is deep at the TE position, that was just a general impression. It wasn't a scientific statement based on actual numbers or statistics. By using Lance Zierlein's draft grades, we can add some concrete facts to flesh out the idea and illustrate the depth of this TE draft class.

LZ has 27 TEs in the 2022 class with a draft grade of 5.60 or higher. In the previous 4 drafts, the number of TEs who met that threshold were 18, 19, 18 and 15.

LZ has 15 TEs in this class with a draft grade of 5.90 or higher. The past 4 drafts, that number was 5, 11, 13, and 11. So, there are 3 times as many TEs at that level in 2022 compared to last year's draft.

LZ has 9 TEs in this class with a draft grade of 6.10 or better. In 2021 there were only 4 and in 2020 there were only 5. There are as many of these "upper tier" TEs this year as in the last 2 drafts combined.

One of the TEs that Zierlein has graded surprising high is John Fitzpatrick from Georgia. LZ has him ranked 86th overall, a 3rd round pick. Fitzpatrick is ranked 311th overall by ESPN (UDFA) and doesn't even appear on many other draft boards at all. Fitzpatrick is LZ's 6th ranked TE, nearly tied with Charlie Kolar.

I don't see why LZ likes Fitzpatrick so much. He doesn't impress me. But, that's part of what makes this TE class so interesting, is there could be a sleeper out there who isn't ranked high, but who could turn out to be a quality NFL player. It could be a TE who hasn't been mentioned on TST a single time.

I don't think Deese is such a sleeper, but I think he's a very solid player who is worth a draft pick. Deese is LZ's 21st ranked TE. If we assume for discussion that Deese is the very last TE drafted and all 21 of those players get picked, it would be the most TE selections in a long time. In the past 8 NFL drafts, there have been an average of about 13 TEs taken, with the highest number being 19, which happened in the 2015 draft.

The very last pick in the 2013 draft (by the Colts) was a TE named Justice Cunningham. He ended up on the Rams roster during his rookie season and was a PS to back end of the roster type player for the Rams for a couple of seasons. Deese is a better prospect than Cunningham.

Would Deese have a realistic shot at making the Rams roster as a rookie? I think he would have a solid chance. The Rams carried 4 TEs on their opening day roster last season (Higbee, Mundt, Hopkins and Harris). Blanton began the year on PS and was pulled up when Mundt got injured. If we assume that Higbee, Hopkins and Harris all will occupy the first 3 spots, then the question is whether Deese could beat out Blanton for the 4th spot (the Rams currently have another TE on the roster, but I'm just going to ignore him for discussion purposes.)

Blanton is a much bigger player than Deese. Blanton is 6'6'' tall and 262 pounds. This doesn't always translate to the field, because Blanton isn't as good of a blocker as you'd think given his size, while Deese is a better blocker than you would assume if you just looked at his listed weight. Deese was the 3rd best run blocking TE in FBS last season according to PFF.

The Rams have a "TE friendly" offensive system. A TE who can block on the move and catch the ball can be useful in McVay's system even if he isn't great at creating his own separation or if he isn't big enough to be a traditional Y TE. The Rams off of play action will use a TE to run into the flat or across the middle of the field in a levels concept, where the QB just reads who is open based on the defensive coverage. This fits Deese's skill set perfectly, he can make the block required by the sift action, he has enough athleticism to run those short area routes and he has good hands to catch the pass. So, even though Deese has athletic and size limitations that would make him a less valuable TE on other teams, he could still be a viable 3rd or 4th string TE for the Rams.

Background

6'3 1/4'' tall, 244 pounds, 33 5/8'' arms, 10 1/4'' hands, 82'' wingspan.

Kendall Blanton is 6'6'' tall, with 33 3/4'' arms, but his wingspan is 81 7/8'', so even though Deese is 3 inches shorter than Blanton, the two players have identical wingspans. Deese also has big hands relative to his size, they are the same size as Tyler Higbee's hands and Higbee is nearly 6'6'' tall.

4.93 sec (40 time), 1.65 sec (10 yard split), 18 bench reps, 31'' vert jump, 10' broad jump.

Deese certainly isn't going to blow you away with his athleticism. He's not very fast or a leaper, but his testing numbers are about the same as Blanton's. A below average athlete, but a "good enough" athlete.

Deese played 2 years in community college as a WR. He redshirted at SJSU in 2018. After modest stats the following 2 seasons (39-419-7) he had his best year in 2021. In 11 games he had 46 catches for 723 yards and 4 TDs.

Got flipped over and landed on his head in team's 2020 bowl game, ruled out with a neck injury. Left a game in the 1st quarter early in 2021 season for undisclosed injury. Had an ankle injury at the Shrine Bowl that limited him in pre-draft workout.

Graduated with degree in communication.

ESPN 235th overall (7th round)

B/R 4th round grade, compared to Blake Jarwin

TDN 7th round grade

PFN 250th (late 7th rd)

Shane Hallam 295th (UDFA)

Brian Bosarge 231st (7th rd)

PFF 168th (5th rd)

Drafttek 580th (UDFA)

Lance Zierlein 276th overall (priority UDFA), 5.69 draft grade, just behind Cole Turner (275th overall). Blanton had a 5.40 draft grade in his draft.

Had 86.3 PFF grade last year (11th best TE in country) and a 82.9 run blocking grade, ranking 3rd best in FBS.

Strengths

Confident hands catcher. Composed catching the ball in traffic, doesn't lose focus, can hold on to the ball through contact and hits. Reliable hands and technique catching the ball. Able to extend his arms and catch ball away from his body. Good effective catch radius. Ball skills more like a WR.

Uses his hands to fight past jams and get into his route. Flashes some wiggle in middle of route to fake out defender.

Surprisingly good blocker for his size. Solid push and drive on down blocks. Unlocks long arms and gets hands inside the frame of defender.

Good effort as blocker, moves feet well to sustain the block, battles to sustain blocks.

Accelerates into 2nd level blocks against LBs. Not timid, doesn't shy away from contact. Solid physicality and aggression for his size.

Gets hips around well to seal the defender.

Finds proper blocking angles. Detailed footwork on entry into his block fit so that he can engage the defender with a strong body position.

Blocks in-line as Y TE, in space on screens and swing passes, and as move TE. Experienced blocking on zone runs.

Looks for work as blocker. Follows up on plays.

Should be able to be used as a lead FB lined up in the backfield.

Reliable and consistent player. Might not create a ton of highlights, but he doesn't commit penalties, miss blocks or blow his assignments, he handles both his blocking and receiving duties well on a play to play basis, doesn't hurt his team. Good completion rate on his catchable targets.

Weaknesses

Lacks burst coming off the LOS. Too slow to run more complicated or deeper routes, but adequate speed to run most intermediate routes. Not a quick twitch athlete or an explosive jumper.

Not a good route runner. Most of his catches involve him either being schemed open or are just him running into open space and being a big guy with good hands to catch the ball.

Unable to sink his hips to get in and out of breaks. Can't make tight turns or sharp change of direction moves.

Mediocre athlete. Average strength. Below average size for an NFL TE. Can get thrown off by stronger defenders. Lacks flexibility and quickness to make adjustments to sustain backside blocks.

Little YAC ability.

Low ceiling. Not big enough to be Y TE and play in-line, but not athletic enough to be a dangerous pass catching flexed TE. I don't think he'll ever become more than a good 3rd string TE. Has scheme limitations.

Lack of athleticism limits his special teams value.

Has had some injuries that require investigation.

Pro Comparison and Grade

Kendall Blanton (2019 UDFA, Rams, Missouri), Late round grade.

Deese isn't a good enough player to target in the middle rounds, but I think he's worth considering at the end of the draft. His ability to block on the move and catch the ball well fits what the Rams do with their TEs in McVay's scheme. Blanton as effectively the 5th TE last year was pressed into action due to injuries the Rams had at TE. So, whether it is as the 4th string TE or on the PS, Deese could be a quality depth piece. We don't know yet if either Hopkins or Harris will turn out to be key contributors. Higbee can be injury prone. Stashing another TE who potentially is a better player than Blanton could prove valuable if things don't work out as planned with the current Rams TEs in 2022 or beyond.

While TE isn't a big current need for the Rams, the reason I'd look at that position group late in the draft is due to the depth at TEs in this draft. Deese's draft grade from LZ is similar to TEs who were 3rd and 5th round picks in last year's draft. Deese has a higher grade than Temarrick Hemingway, who the Rams selected early in the 6th round in 2016 and I agree with how LZ has the 2 ordered, if they were in the same draft I'd take Deese over Hemingway.

Even though Deese might not seem like a good prospect if you just look at his overall draft board rankings, I feel this is somewhat misleading, because 2022 is an abnormally deep TE draft class. Deese or one of the other Day 3 TEs in this class could be a good value pick for the Rams if they can successfully take advantage of this "oversupply" and grab a TE in the 6th or 7th round who in a normal draft would be more like a 5th round pick.